South Korea criticized Japan Friday for politicizing UNESCO through a campaign to win its recognition for several industrial facilities where many Koreans were coerced into slave labor during the colonial era.

Japan has applied for the listing of a package of 23 coal mines, shipyards and other early industrial zones as world heritage sites. It includes seven facilities where nearly 60,000 Koreans were forced to work during World War II. Japan colonized Korea from 1910-45.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites, a group of experts, has advised UNESCO to accept Tokyo's bid.

South Korean officials said the council apparently took "technical factors" into account, rather than historical background linked with Japan's atrocity.

They expect the World Heritage Committee to make a different decision as it would consider negative effects from Japan's drive.

The committee is scheduled to open a weeklong session in Germany on June 28, which will be attended by government delegates.

"As we said in a press briefing yesterday, the responsibility for politicizing UNESCO lies with Japan," an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. "Japan should retract its bid.

UNESCO wants South Korea and Japan to reach a consensus over the problem through dialogue."

He cited the UNESCO Constitution, which reads "The wide diffusion of culture, and the education of humanity for justice and liberty and peace are indispensable to the dignity of man and constitute a sacred duty which all the nations must fulfill in the spirit of mutual assistance and concern."

The official's remarks came in response to the Japanese government's assertion that South Korea is making a "political claim" over the issue.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters it does not make sense for Seoul to take issue with the recommendation by the specialists' panel that the candidate sites deserve a world heritage title. (Yonhap)